Govt approves PCB constitution: Zaka

LAHORE - Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf Friday said the government has approved the new constitution of the PCB which is in line with the constitution of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Talking to the reporters here after the Kinnaird College sports gala, Zaka said the new constitution of the PCB had been approved and would be implemented soon after the issuance of an official notification. “The government has framed the PCB’s constitution as per directions of the ICC to run the board under a democratic setup and made necessary amendments and sent it to the cricket ruling body for approval which later will send it to the government for final approval,” the PCB chief said and added: “We have not yet received the approved copy of new constitution and we are still waiting for it.”Meanwhile, the sources said that according to the new constitution, incumbent PCB chairman Zaka would complete his four-year term. “The next board chief would be ‘elected’ and not selected as per the new constitution,” sources added. It is also learnt that according to the new constituent, there would be 10 representatives on the governing board and five of them would represent the departments while the rest different regions. Talking about the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Zaka said the league had been postponed in order to organise it in a befitting manner and the negative impression being given in its postponement was not a fair thought. “All the stake holders were of the opinion that they should be given ample time to hold the league as heavy funds were required for its organisation in a trend-setting manner,” he said and added: “In order to consider the point of view of the stake holders, we decided to postpone it and we will be announcing its new schedule after finalsing all the necessary arrangements and allied issues.”The PCB chief said the PSL organising committee was working on the project and it was working on day-to-day basis to launch the country’s first ever cricket league in a memorable way. He said the board was ensuring every measure to bring back international cricket to Pakistan and holding of PSL was a part of its efforts to break the deadlock of international cricket in Pakistan. “Our main priority is to ensure the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan and we are making gradual progress in this regard,” he concluded.